Leeds Sunset
It’s one of days you really wish you’d brought the SLR… The other day I saw a beautiful Leeds sunrise with the sun lighting up the clouds beautifully from below. Today I saw a beautiful Leeds sunset, where was my camera?! Another missed opportunity. Oh well, I managed to capture it on the iPhone – second best.
Photo Experiment: Macro Photo Studio
In the end the Macro Photo Studio cost me as little as £3 (not counting the £5.20 I paid in parking and the petrol…). I managed to source the cardboard box from the office, tracing paper (or bakin parchment) from the kitchen, and scissors, carpet knife and tape from the cupboard.
In the end it was the background that would make or break the scene. Getting hold of those polystyrene boards was invaluable as you’ll see from the photos.
Looking through the house, I found a few interesting things I could use… Just like last time I used the 70-200mm F4 lens. I tried to source a macro lens, but not possible unfortunately.
In order to get as much detail as possible, which I got with a narrower apparture in my Aperture Experiment, I set the camera to aperture mode at the maximum of F32 and ISO 100. The variable was then the shutter speed.
Different Light Settings Shooting My Canon 18-55mm Lens
Firstly my kit 18-55mm Canon lens which I’m thinking of selling and replace with a better one – I don’t use it anyway. I took three different shots:
- Light coming from the left and right side of the light tent (left)
- Light coming only from the left (middle)
- Light coming from the left and top (right)
The photos below have not been altered. If wecompare this to the Orange Photo Experiment and Aperture Photo Experiment, it’s amazing how great it looks without any alterations!
Left: Light from left and right - Middle: Light from left only - Right: Light from left and top - Aperture: F32 for all, Shutter Speed: 4, 5 and 5 (from left), ISO 100
The left and middle photographs look good with a really nice reflection in the polystyrene, but I must say I’m the most impressed with the effect of the top-down light effect creating a natural gradient where the board is bent. This is the kind of stuff you usually generate in Photoshop and try to make natural – with this method it’s already there. In the end, whichever picture I use when I sell the lens, I think it’ll make it more desirable than a normal photo like I used to take.
Beany Pig on Black Background
Why not photograph some fun things as well? I found this pig lying around and figured it’d make a nice subject for a test on the black background. The conclusion is: If you want to find out how much dust you actually have on your lens/sensor, take a picture against a plain background. I was shocked and will definitely need to clean the lens. This picture has had some dust removed and had a slight Level tweak. Other than that this is as it was shot.
Beany Pig on Black Background - Aperture: F32, Shutter Speed: 1.3s, ISO 100
The bottom line is I like this shot because it’s a fun subject exposed in my opinion really well. You also here have the gradient background, which gives it the extra edge.
The Pillars of Love
The idea for this shot is how love sometimes can be built on unstable foundations. I bought these blocks in Portebello Market in London a couple of years back as decoration for the living room. My girlfriend said I’d never find a use for them, but you were (for once) wrong sweetheart.
This is without doubt my favourite picture out of the set. It was really difficult to get the light correctly setup to give reflections so that you can clearly see that it says “LOVE”. Because the letter blocks were very dark against a very bright yellow background, it also required some post processing but only on the levels, brightening it up.
Pillars of Love - Aperture: 32, Shutter Speed: 1s, ISO 100
I love it! If you ask me it looks more professional than any shot I’ve taken before (in my opinion anyways). I’ll definitely be doing more macro shots, next time possibly with some movement – How about the love tower falling down? Will have to reduce the shutter speeds then 
You can see the photos at Torstein Langeland Photography on Smugmug. You can also see what the Macro Photo Studio looks like externally by going to previous posts Professional Make-Shift Macro Photo Studio and Macro Studio – The Making Of…
Professional Make-Shift Macro Photo Studio?
It took me 5 or more shops and 2 hours to find but I’ve finally found the background I was looking for. It’s not actually paper but polystyrene. And so far it works great with nice reflections. The sheets have 2 sides – one very shiny and one less shiny. I use the less shiny side as it gives just about the reflection needed. The three sheets in black, yellow and blue bring the total expenditure up to £3. If the results look professional then who needs more?
For lighting I’ve used one study lamp and one livingroom reading lamp. No cost there.
Next step is to take some shots! Why not check out the results of my macro studio setup?
Macro Studio – The Making Of…
As mentioned last weekend I’ve now started building a make-shift macro studio on a tiny budget. So far I’ve spent £0 using what I have. Have to go to the shop to buy black and White poster paper though, which might cost a couple of quid, but nothing that should make a major impact on the world economy. I’ll update once I’m all setup. Now I have to dig into this lovely bacon and egg sandwich.
The Strobist Blog – DIY Macro Photo Studio!
I’ve decided what’ll be my next project. I’m not sure how happy my girlfriend will be with me buying new 300W Halogen lights, but I definitely want to try out making my own DIY macro photo studio. I got the link from my friend for the Strobist Blog, who give alot of good photography tips. Making the studio seems straight forward so I just need to get the stuff and get going! All you need is:
- A cardboard box
- Two sheets of poster board (Black & White)
- One or two bright lights, ideally Halogen (No flash needed)
And bingo, you have your own light tent. So that’s the plan for next weekend – keep in touch and I’ll let you know how it goes!
Photographic Experiment: Effects of Different Aperture Settings
Education while having fun is great! My question is how does the aperture setting affect the photography? Photographers with some experience will know that aperture has a direct effect on the depth of field, but what other effects do you get?
I don’t have a macro lens, which is a bit stupid. Not deterred by that setback, I used the Canon 70-200mm F4 IS USM lens on my 400D instead. I set the zoom to 200 to get a real good close-up so I could compare the details. The object was a decorative candle, a gift from my dear brother and his fiancee.
The studio used is the one seen in the previous post, inside our living room cupboard. I shot a range of pictures with the same frame, with only aperture and shutter speed being the relative variables. To show the difference below I’ve shown two pictures; Left: F32 Aperture & 1/5s Shutter Speed; and Right: F4 Aperture & 1/320 Shutter Speed. ISO: 100
Left: F32 Aperture & 1/5s Shutter. Right: F4 Aperture & 1/320 Shutter
Initial Observations about the F4 shot:
- The F4 shot has a shallower depth of field (as expected).
- Everything except the in-focus area is darker on the F4 shot. While capturing enough light to make the in-focus area, the shutter speed doesn’t appear to be sufficient to capture enough light for the background. Any views on why this is the case are welcome! I’ll try to find out myself.
- The light feels more saturated on the F4 shot than the F32 shot, probably helped by the darker background and shallower focus depth.
With those observations in the bag, I’m interested to know which shot has the best details. I know that F32 will capture a greater depth of detail but what about in the focused area?
Zoomed Area
The below images are the two same images only zoomed in on a small part as shown above.
Zoomed in: Left: F32 Aperture & 1/5s Shutter. Right: F4 Aperture & 1/320 Shutter
The focus point is just below the big indentation in the middle. Despite the whole area being in focus in both shots, we can see that the F32 image is clearly sharper! Unless there’s something wrong with my lens (and it cost too much for there to be something wrong!), I think the conclusion needs to be: Unless you’re looking for a view with limited depth of field or are shooting moving objects, then a narrower aperture is better (the larger number the narrower right?). So make sure you bring that tripod for the longer shutter speeds! I will.
I could probably have read this in some magazine, but hey! Much more fun finding out yourself right?! Stay tuned for more Photolicious experimentation!
Studio Setup – Capturing Light… Literally
How about that. This is my new studio setup with reflection from most sides. I’m using a candle for todays testing. Will be testing aperture.
Canon RC-1 Remote Controller
To avoid camera shake when doing my studio and other work i’ve invested in a Canon RC-1 remote control for the camera. I’m using it for todays experiment so it remains to be seen how well it works! Fingers crossed…
Edit: I’ve since done a review of the Canon RC-1 Remote Controller.
